2 weeks ago

2 weeks ago

And then there were none. The biggest conference news of the week was Duke losing at Florida State (as called by yours truly in last week’s Look Ahead). All the speculation to whether Duke could finish ACC play (and the regular season) undefeated was squashed thanks to a fantastic effort from the Seminoles. They popped Duke right in the mouth from the get-go, playing physical defense that negated any potential presence inside and forced the Blue Devils to take low percentage contested jumpers. I would say this is the formula to beat Duke, but I’m not sure how many teams in the country are super-tall, super-athletic and defensive-minded. The Seminoles were helped by a career effort from Derwin Kitchen (or a runner-up career effort: he had 29 in a game against Marylandlast season) who led the way with 22 points on nine of 13 shooting with ten rebounds to boot. His contributions went beyond the box score, as Kitchen took over the game when Chris Singleton was forced to leave with four fouls. The question about Florida State this season has always been “can they score?” and they answered with a resounding yes. Singleton also deserves much of the credit: he played lock-down defense on Kyle Singler the entire first half and seemed to come up with a basket whenever the Seminoles needed one. Hats off to the Seminoles, who looked absolutely abysmal the past couple of weeks. It looks like the ACC may finally have a runner-up candidate.

Film Session:

Unfortunately, the ACC Vault does have limits. This isn’t the first time Florida State has knocked off #1 Duke in Tallahassee. It’s the third. Duke fans will have to forgive me for rubbing salt in the wound, but the Blue Devils won’t be short of any praise this season. Unfortunately, the Vault doesn’t carry either of the past two big time upsets out of the panhandle, but YouTube provides a decent recount.

2002: Duke had a 22-game winning streak. They had Carlos Boozer, Jason Williams and Mike Dunleavy. Florida State somehow forces Williams to go 0-6 from the free throw line (including two that would have put Duke up three in the final 20 seconds). Monte Cummings then took the ball straight at Williams (I’ll let you debate whether it was a charge or a flop; I think it was a fine no-call) and over Mike Dunleavy to put the Seminoles up one.

2006: Duke was led by JJ Redick and Shelden Williams. Duke entered the game 27-1, and even with 50 points from Redick and Williams, the Blue Devils couldn’t withstand the dominant game from Al Thornton who finished with 26 (including a ludicrous 15-16 from the line). You might remember this as the game with the “controversy” about rushing the court. Coach Mike Krzyzewski expressed his concern that his players would get injured (largely because I think in the 2002 game Dunleavy and Williams almost got trampled as you can see they’re lying on the ground when the students come sprinting onto the court). Rushing the court is still a huge part of college basketball upsets, but I’d stress not running over 6’4 elite athletes for your safety as well as theirs.

Bizarro Team of the Week: North Carolina wins the award after playing four of the ugliest halves of basketball lucky enough to be televised this season. To be fair the Tar Heels beat Virginia Tech, but it wasn’t pretty. As Jay Bilas put it during the broadcast: “this is the kind of game you put the film in a time capsule and lose the map.” Little did anyone know that the Heels would come out with an even worse performance at Georgia Tech Sunday. UNC’s starters went a smooth 9-33 from the field, while Iman Shumpert finished with 13 field goals himself. The team did no better, finishing a nauseating 16 of 58 from the floor (good for 27.6%) in a drubbing at the hands of a mediocre Yellow Jacket team. In addition to shooting woes, North Carolina turned the ball over 18 times. The silver lining was John Henson went five of eight from the free throw line, his second best performance on the season (well above his season average of 36.8%). But really Roy Williams summed it up in the post game presser (I suggest reading everything): “No. We just didn’t come in frickin’ ready to play. Overconfident? How the crap … I’m mad at the world. We stunk. My coaching stunk and we stunk. I’m tired of saying we’ve got to build confidence. It’s easy to build confidence, by God, play better, then you will get some confidence. We’re not overconfident, we just weren’t as intense as we needed to be to start the basketball game.” Sounds like echoes from last year, which isn’t good for Carolina fans.

Team of the Week:Florida State. In addition to the huge upset over Duke, the Seminoles handily took care of NC State 84-71. If not for the inexcusable loss at Auburn a couple weeks ago, I think the Seminoles would’ve earned a spot in the top 25. That game just shows how inconsistent this team is from night to night. Hopefully Leonard Hamilton has everything together now. It would be nice to see the ACC with at least two decent seeds come March…

Player of the Week: A tie between Derwin Kitchen and Iman Shumpert, who both led their teams to home wins over Tobacco Road this week. Both are very talented yet inconsistent upperclassmen who need to do well for their respective teams to succeed.

Power Rankings:

Duke (16-1, 3-1) remains atop the power rankings despite the loss at Florida State. Duke flirted with falling in their home win against Virginia. The Blue Devils trailed by seven at the half and looked totally out of sync. This team is a long way from being dominant without Kyrie Irving. Until they find a facilitator, that’s how it will stay. I still think they’re the best team (by a long shot) in the ACC, but whether they’re a true championship contender is still up in the air. For now, Blue Devil fans (and the Plumlees)should hope for either rapid development of Tyler Thornton or Irving’s toe, so Nolan Smith can go back to his natural two guard position.

Florida State(13-5, 3-1) skyrockets after a great week. Now if they can only show some consistency.

Maryland(11-6, 1-2) still can’t close. They had Villanova on the ropes with a lead in the second half, but a few missed shots and turnovers later and the Wildcats were back on top for good. Jordan Williams is still a year away from being a shut the game down type of player (and he may never be one if his free throw shooting doesn’t improve). Someone in the Terrapin backcourt needs to step up soon, or the team will find itself looking at a nasty ticket to the NIT. The good news is that Jordan Williams hit some pretty nice 15-footers, which would make him truly impossible to guard. Right now, he’s playing like the best big man (and probably the best player in the conference). Now if Gary Williams can just find a suitable sidekick (my personal guess is Terrell Stoglin).

Clemson (14-4, 2-1) dominated Georgia Tech at home 87-62. Jerai Grant led the way with a career-high 20 points and eight rebounds. Grant is one of the most overlooked players in the conference, largely because he plays at Clemson. He’ll be the key if Clemson wants to stay out of the conference cellar this season (well, not the cellar because Wake Forest has it booked for the season, but you know what I mean).

Boston College (13-5, 3-1) got a good win against NC State before losing a heartbreaker to Miami on the road. This team is better than I expected, but that’s not a very high bar. Reggie Jackson is quietly averaging nearly 20 points a game, but they’re racking up some losses that look bad on an at-large resume (Yale, Harvard and Miami to name three).

Miami(12-5, 1-2) edged Boston College out at home. This team feels on the brink of being decent, but they just can’t quite make the leap. Frank Haith certainly has the personnel to field a strong team, but something seems to be missing. This week they’ll get a shot at Florida State at home and NC State on the road for two solid wins.

Virginia(10-7, 1-2) almost shocked the world by almost beating Duke in Durham. Unfortunately the Cavaliers couldn’t sustain the defensive effort after holding Duke to only 25 points at the half. Duke went on to put up 51 in the second half. Losing Mike Scott really took an entire dimension out of this team, but they’ve made the best of it so far (even if they’ve come up just short).

Georgia Tech (8-8, 1-2) got pummeled at Clemson before handing out a beating of their own against Carolina. It’s pretty simple: when Iman Shumpert and Glen Rice Jr. are playing to their abilities Georgia Tech is a tough team to beat. When they aren’t, the Yellow Jackets are subpar. I’m not sure Shumpert is capable of going off for 30 any given night, so I feel pretty safe in saying that the Yellow Jackets are still looking at the bottom fourth of the ACC come the end of the year.

Virginia Tech (11-5, 2-2) barely lost at Carolina after just dominating Wake Forest 94-65 at home. The Wake result says far more about the Demon Deacons than it does Seth Greenberg’s squad. They’re going to need to win close games like the one at Carolina if they want to finally have a happy Selection Sunday. Right now they still rely far too much on Malcolm Delaney (though playing him off the ball has helped tremendously), and they’re just too shallow to perform night in and night out. Injuries have really lowered the potential for this team.

North Carolina (12-5, 2-1) fell apart this week. See above. This team is looking more and more similar to last year’s NIT squad. Too soft; not enough effort; dumb turnovers; no leadership. They show flashes of brilliance accompanied by halves of ineptitude. It’s slowly killing Williams, who was just beginning to sound like he enjoyed coaching again until this week. At this point (though it has always been my stance), it’s time to hand Kendall Marshall the reins. If he loses a few along the way, so be it. He’s the future of this program.

NC State (11-6, 1-2) lost a couple of road games this week. I think it’s safe to say the Wolfpack are a major disappointment. Tracy Smith is still the man, but they have a similar point guard crisis to Carolina. Sidney Lowe still insists on playing Javier Gonzalez despite Ryan Harrow’s talent. I know Harrow is small and a little bit of a defensive liability. But let’s face it: State’s defense isn’t that good with or without Gonzalez. Lowe needs to make some major changes and get this program moving back in the right direction.

Wake Forest (7-11, 0-3) had a rough week, losing to Maryland by 19 at home and 29 to Virginia Tech on the road. Yikes. Not much positive to say here.

A Look Ahead:

The ACC prognosis is very weak. Unfortunately only Duke and Florida State (when they come to play) stand out as even consistently “good” teams. That means spreading the conference losses around a lot (as seen by the fact that no team has played five games and no team is unbeaten). This is going to make getting at-large bids really difficult. Maryland is definitely good enough to deserve a ticket, but they still don’t have any marquee wins (unless they can beat Duke). UNC has a pretty strong resume, but it won’t matter if they keep getting blown out by the likes of Georgia Tech.

This week’s important games:

Tuesday Tiger History (8:00 PM, ACC Network): Can Clemson get that elusive win in Chapel Hill on the 55th try? No joke, as founding members of the ACC Clemson has never won a game in Chapel Hill. This looks like the perfect time to give it a run, but I wouldn’t hold your breath.

***** – quit your job and divorce your wife if that’s what it takes to watch this game live
**** – best watched live, but if you must, tivo and watch it tonight as soon as you get home
*** – set your tivo but make sure you watch it later
** – set your tivo but we’ll forgive you if it stays in the queue until 2013
* – don’t waste bandwidth (yours or the tivo’s) of any kind on this game

Brian Otskey is an RTC contributor.

Another action-packed weekend awaits grateful hoop fans as we’re about two months away from March Madness. Conference play is really heating up and races are beginning to take shape. All rankings from RTC and all times eastern.

While most of the media will point to poor shooting nights by Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith and bemoan the continued absence of Kyrie Irving, when Coach K addresses his team his primary focus should be on the Blue Devils’ complete lack of production on the inside. As Luke Winn astutely pointed out a month ago when Irving first went down, the distribution of the ball would change significantly, but even he failed to predict the precipitous decline in production that we are seeing from Mason Plumlee, who has only scored more than four points once in eight games since Irving was injured. The Blue Devils had so little on the inside tonight that they ended up taking 35 out of their 61 shots (57%) from beyond the arc, which would appear to indicate either a lack of a presence or confidence on the inside. To be fair to Plumlee, he was productive on the glass, grabbing 14 rebounds, and FSU is very tough to play against down low (ask Jared Sullinger who “only” had 11 points and 13 rebounds earlier this year). Still, Duke needs him to step up and become a presence on the inside like he was earlier in the season (25 points and 12 rebounds against Marquette) if they expect to compete with Ohio State with Jared Sullinger or Kansas with Marcus and Markieff Morris while they wait/pray for Irving to come back.

Having said that, we need to congratulate Leonard Hamilton and the Seminoles. Derwin Kitchen was a load on the inside today, putting up 22 points and pulling 10 rebounds while Chris Singleton added 18 points to go along with his usual outstanding defense. We also want to tip our hats to their fans for a solid RTC at the end that was performed safely but effectively and in an appropriate setting. While we wait on video of tonight’s RTC to appear on the Internet we recommend you check out the last 20.5 seconds of FSU’s upset of Duke in 2002.

***** – quit your job and divorce your wife if that’s what it takes to watch this game live
**** – best watched live, but if you must, tivo and watch it tonight as soon as you get home
*** – set your tivo but make sure you watch it later
** – set your tivo but we’ll forgive you if it stays in the queue until 2013
* – don’t waste bandwidth (yours or the tivo’s) of any kind on this game

Brian Otskey is an RTC contributor.

We’re going to mix it up today with this feature. With so many good games tonight (one of the best nights of the season thus far) here are some quick hitters on 10 important games you should be following this evening, including the top five teams in the land all playing on the road. Additionally, key conference battles are on tap throughout the night. Enjoy it, folks. All rankings from RTC and all times eastern.

#2 Ohio State @ Michigan – 6:30 pm on Big Ten Network (***)

The Wolverines nearly knocked off Kansas on Sunday and they’ll get another crack at a top three team tonight when their rivals visit Ann Arbor. Michigan has to shoot the three well to win but that’ll be difficult against an Ohio State defense ranked in the top five in efficiency. Though Darius Morris (15.0 PPG, 7.0 APG) will try his best, Ohio State has too much talent and offensive firepower for Michigan to handle. Michigan needs their best defensive effort of the year combined with an off night for the Buckeyes in order to have a chance. John Beliein can rotate plenty of bodies on Jared Sullinger but that may be a futile effort against the uber-talented big man.

Sullinger, Lighty, and Co. Have Bucknuts Already Looking Forward to March (and April)

#5 Pittsburgh @ #19 Georgetown – 7 pm on ESPN (****)

The Hoyas are in serious danger of dropping to 1-4 in conference play as Pitt comes to DC. Georgetown hasn’t shot the ball well recently and has lost three of four as a result. The inconsistent play of point guard Chris Wright can certainly be blamed, but take a deeper look at the numbers. Georgetown’s defense is rated #61 in efficiency; not terrible, but it’s the lowest-rated Hoyas defense in six years (#66 in the ’04-’05 season). The Hoyas have given up 66.6 PPG, not a good number when your adjusted tempo is only 66.5 possessions and rated #228 in the country, indicating a slower pace. Georgetown’s dynamic guard trio has certainly struggled, a key reason why they’ve lost three of four, but the defense has also played a part and must get better. It’ll be put to the test against a Pitt offense rated the best in the land. The Panthers can punish you inside and out as well as on the glass. Yours truly has maintained for a while that this Pitt team is the best interior passing group in America and I see no reason to back off that statement. What Jamie Dixon has built in Pittsburgh year after year is quite remarkable but this may be his best offensive squad ever. The Panthers have played just one true road game all year (at Providence) but they’re experienced and so well-coached that it doesn’t figure to affect them all that much. Expect a desperate Georgetown team to come out ready to play, but we’ll take the Panthers here in a close one.

RTC is interested in learning how to improve our Checking In On… series in each conference. Let us know in the below poll where we can improve this weekly piece (feel free to add specific comments). Thanks.

The biggest news came out of Charlottesville when Virginiaannounced that Mike Scott needs season-ending surgery on his ankle. Scott was Virginia’s best player and only post threat. I was just starting to buy into Tony Bennett’s squad as a potential sleeper for the top half of the conference, but without Scott, they don’t stand a chance. Don’t get me wrong, this Virginia team will still win some games in the ACC, but I don’t think there’s any chance they can sneak into the Tournament (despite having the best non-conference win of the ACC, a November road triumph at Minnesota ).

ACC Vault Film Session

In honor of the crushing loss Virginia sustained at home against North Carolina last week, our historical matchup will feature the same two teams, this time in Chapel Hill from 1983. Virginia was in a better place then as far as a post presence goes, with superstar big man Ralph Sampson. On the other side of the court, North Carolina wasn’t really slumming talent-wise with Sam Perkins, Michael Jordan and Brad Daugherty. That’s three top five NBA Draft picks on the same team (the next season they added sixth overall pick Kenny Smith). Like our game last week, Virginia led most of the game by as much as 16 points. But the Tar Heels came storming back, and the Cavaliers led by three with just under three to play. That doesn’t sound like much, but in the age without a shot clock (which was introduced three seasons later), they should have had no trouble holding the ball. But Sampson missed the front end of a one-and-one, and what follows is must-see basketball. Jordan got the putback to close the deficit to one with a minute to play. Then His Airness (with four fouls) picks Rick Carlisle’s pocket and finishes it off with a huge tomahawk jam. All in all, it was an epic game, even if Virginia finished with a loss.

Bizarro Team of the Week:Boston College –Wait; am I allowed to give the award to a team undefeated in conference play with the second best overall record? Yes. That’s what happens when you start conference play 2-0, including a road win at Maryland, but go 0-2 in the Ivy League portion of your schedule. In addition to an early season slip-up at home against Yale, Boston College lost to Harvard for the third year running. Maybe Harvard and Yale were bitter they couldn’t beat Steve Donahue when he was at Cornell last season and played their best games of the season. Or maybe Boston College is just grossly inconsistent. I’ll hear arguments for a little of both, but I’m starting to lean towards the latter. Truthfully, the Harvard loss wasn’t nearly as bad as the Yale one, but there’s no excuse for going winless at home against the Ivy League.

Team of the Week: Clemson – The Tigers have quietly won seven straight since losing at Florida State. Demontez Stitt and Jerai Grant combined for 35 points and Grant added 11 boards in the win against Miami. The Tigers may not be loaded with star talent, but Brad Brownell has done a fantastic job getting the Tigers back on track after three straight losses earlier this season. He’s looking like a solid early choice for ACC Coach of the Year if he can get Clemson back to the Big Dance this year without TrevorBooker.

Player of the Week: Tracy Smith is back. He looked absolutely dominant in NC State’s game against Wake Forest. Now, I don’t want to look too much into a big-time performance against an abysmal team, but Smith controlled all aspects of the game. He was very vocal on offense, even away from the ball; made great passes; and was virtually unstoppable when he wanted to score. He’ll definitely challenge Jordan Williams for the conference’s best big man this year, and Smith brings solid range that Williams can’t match. He also pulled down 11 boards in the dominant conference opener.

Power Rankings

Duke (15-0, 2-0) dominated UAB before getting the job done against Maryland. Duke’s two close wins to start conference play might be cause for concern, but no one has waltzed through their schedule so far. The Blue Devils are going to lose a couple of games this year, probably on the road when threes aren’t falling–and the other team is shooting well. But wins are wins, and it’s very important to know how to win close games as well as blowouts.

North Carolina (11-4, 1-0) got a tough, conference road win this week at Virginia. After the game, Roy Williams was very pleased with his team’s aggressive play, even if the execution wasn’t flawless. The Tar Heels are still woefully inconsistent on offense, but never scoff at a road win.

Maryland (10-5, 0-2) moves up after a tough loss at Duke and a woodshed beating of Colgate. The Terrapins gave Duke everything they could handle at Cameron. Jordan Williams, as usual, was phenomenal, but the guard play left a lot to be desired. If Gary Williams can figure out a way to get his backcourt to start performing well, look out. The Terrapins still haven’t shown they can close out a close game, but I think they’ll develop that skill as the season progresses. The Duke game at College Park on February 2nd is looking to be one of the best games of the season (and maybe Duke’s best chance for a regular season loss).

NC State (11-4, 1-0) got a couple of wins against unimpressive teams this week. That said, I was at the Wake Forest game, and the second half was an offensive showcase for the Wolfpack. Sidney Lowe needs this team to keep up that sort of offensive efficiency and challenge for an at-large bid.

Clemson (12-4, 1-1) has bounced back from an ugly stretch earlier. Now they must prove they can beat better teams.

Virginia Tech (10-4, 1-1) will have trouble overcoming all of their injuries, but they played a very strong game against Florida State. I don’t think they have the depth to be the team everyone expected, but Seth Greenberg’s squad shouldn’t be the nations biggest disappointment.

Boston College (12-4, 2-0) had a disappointing week. See above.

Miami (11-5, 0-2) may be showing their true colors, having lost their first two games of 2011. Both were road games, but I expected the Hurricanes to do a little more at Clemson. More specifically, I expected more of Reggie Johnson. After he had a dominant game at Duke, he was a total nonfactor at Little John, playing 26 minutes but only attempting three field goals. He has to be one of their primary options unless Malcolm Grant or Durand Scott are having career games. Johnson will be the key for Miami going forward. When he’s playing well (and isn’t in foul trouble), they will be a very tough team. When he’s not, Frank Haith might want to start checking out potential job openings.

Virginia (10-6, 1-1) needs an inside threat, but I don’t think they have one now that Mike Scott is out for the year. They were able to hang with North Carolina for most of the game but couldn’t close it out. They also only managed 19 points in the second half. You’re not going to win many games scoring 19 points in either half (just ask Florida State). Tony Bennett has done a very good job getting this team to the level it’s at. I know it’s probably frustrating for Cavaliers fans, but I think he’s building a good program. His style isn’t spectacular, but I see him as a Herb Sendek-esque coach: never elite, but very consistent.

Florida State (11-5, 1-1) lost an ugly game at Virginia Tech. One thing is clear about the Seminoles: they don’t run an offense. Chris Singleton is a great player. There’s no denying that. But the rest of the team has some real trouble on offense. Take the game in Blacksburg: Singleton was 9-14 from the field; rest of the team was 13-48. That’s not going to cut it.

Georgia Tech (7-7, 0-1) looks like they’re ready to join Wake Forest in the ACC cellar after falling in three of their last four (and to .500). Can’t say I’m that surprised. If Paul Hewitt couldn’t win with Derrick Favors and Gani Lawal, he’s going to have a real tough team winning without them.

Wake Forest (7-9, 0-1) finally got a win at the Big South! That’s right, the Demon Deacons took care of the Panthers to improve to 1-2 in Big South play. Unfortunately the Deacs play in the ACC, where even in a down year victories are going to be harder to come by. I count three winnable games for Jeff Bzdelik’s squad: Georgia Tech at home, Virginia at home and Florida State at home. Florida State is probably a stretch, but hey, they lost to Auburn right?

A Look Ahead

Conference play is in full swing. Below are chances for teams to make big statements this week (all times EST), with one big non-con game this weekend.

Wednesday Upset Watch: Duke at Florida State (9:00PM, ESPN): Duke hasn’t played in an environment like Tallahassee yet this season. They’ve also had two pretty close games in ACC play. I fully expect the Seminole defense and atmosphere to lead to an off shooting night. The only question is whether Florida State will be able to score. I’m guessing not, but they need to make a statement.

Thursday: Virginia Tech at North Carolina (9:00PM, ESPN): This should be an interesting measuring-stick game for both of these teams. Virginia Tech doesn’t have any big bodies inside, so I think the Carolina frontcourt will be too much, not to mention homecourt advantage.

Saturday: Maryland at Villanova (1:00PM, CBS) gives Maryland a much-needed chance for a marquee win. Call me a homer, but I think they’ve got a shot. Jordan Williams will be unguardable, and the Villanova guards haven’t been as good as advertised. Gary Williams just needs to figure out how to get a serviceable game out of his backcourt, which might be asking a lot.

Another miserable week of basketball in the ACC. By my count, the ACC notched zero good wins. That said they only had three shots (Wake Forest against Richmondand Gonzaga or Miamiat Duke). The conference still managed to finish 15-7 (14-6 discounting the conference game), even against middling competition.

Bizarro Team of the Week: Florida State. Hands down. Unanimous decision. That’s what happens when you lose to a team projected to be the worst major conference team in Division I history. The Seminoles handed Auburn its first (and very likely only) victory over a BCS-conference team in a hideous game of basketball. You can blame it on Chris Singleton’s horrific free throw shooting (he went 4-12), but this game shouldn’t have been within 20. Before this win Auburn had lost at home to UNC-Asheville, Samford, Campbell, Jacksonville and Presbyterian. The only team the Tigers had beaten in the top 300 (out of the 345 total D-I institutions) according to Ken Pomeroy was number 210, Middle Tennessee State. That’s epically bad. And the Seminoles played worse. They looked lazy and complacent the entire game, giving up uncharacteristic open threes and making more characteristic possessions of offensive ineptitude. I used to think this team was the second best team in the ACC, but if that’s true, the ACC is much worse than anyone thought.

Team of the Week: North Carolina has quietly won six of their last seven with the one loss coming to a very good Texas team (by two). While they didn’t face particularly tough competition, the Tar Heels put away Rutgers and St. Francis handily. I covered the St. Francis game, and, while it wasn’t perfect, the Tar Heels are better than when they started the season. I’m still perplexed as to why Roy Williams insists on playing Larry Drew II over Kendall Marshall, but I haven’t won two national championships, so I won’t complain too much. Carolina showed stretches of offensive and defensive brilliance (really the entire second half was a defensive show). While pretty much everyone assumed Reggie Bullock was going to be their sharpshooter, it looks more and more like Leslie McDonald may be stepping up to that role. I’m still not confident McDonald will be an elite scorer at the ACC level, but I think he could be just as solid as Will Graves was last year. I think the other major concern in the backcourt will be developing an identity: last year Texas never really chose one point guard, and they paid the price. That could be why Williams is sticking with Drew. In the frontcourt, there’s as much talent as any team in the nation (and probably more), but there’s not a whole lot of toughness. Tyler Zeller still allows smaller players to push him around; John Henson is pretty slight himself; and Harrison Barnes has looked much more willing to put up jumpers than take the ball to the basket.

Player of the Week: Nolan Smith takes the honors this week after a dominant performance for Duke against Miami. The Blue Devils were struggling offensively, but Smith scored 28 points with five rebounds and five assists to boot. In the game against UNC Greensboro, Smith finished with 26 points, five rebounds and nine assists. Especially when Kyle Singler isn’t having great nights, Smith is going to be crucial for Duke if they want to stay undefeated.

Power Rankings

1. Duke (13-0, 1-0) struggled a lot against Miami. Their offense still hasn’t found a real flow since losing Kyrie Irving to a toe injury. They are still running tests to see how long he’ll be out, so we’ll keep updating you as news surfaces. Kyle Singler and Seth Curry had an off night, but the bigger issue was the Plumlee brothers. Mason and Miles Plumlee looked soft all night against Reggie Johnson and the Miami frontline. They’re going to be crucial if Duke wants to cut down the nets again this season. They can’t continue to be nonfactors (or worse) on both ends of the floor. Both are athletic–especially Mason–and they’re going to have to start reaping the benefits of that athleticism and living up to the hype if Duke is going to reach its potential. As an important aside, Mike Krzyzewski passed Dean Smith for second on the all time wins list with the win over UNC-Greensboro.

2. North Carolina (10-4) took care of business (see above). The most interesting moment from the Saint Francis postgame presser came when a reporter asked Roy Williams if Kendall Marshall’s increased minutes were a sign of things to come. Williams responded that Marshall’s extra minutes were a product of Larry Drew’s defensive intensity (apparently Drew gave the “I’m tired” signal twice during the game). But clearly Williams is not on the “bench Larry Drew” bandwagon. They start conference play at Virginia Saturday.

3. Maryland (9-4, 0-1) is rising largely thanks to losses by much of the conference. The Terrapins throttled North Floridain their only game of the week. The game was highlighted by strong performances from Jordan Williams (who finished with 17 points and 11 boards) and Sean Mosley (15 points, four rebounds and six assists). Although one dark spot was Williams’ 1-10 effort from the charity stripe… Still, Maryland fans have to like Mosley starting to look more like last season.

4. Miami (11-4, 0-1) slaughtered Pepperdine before taking a respectable defeat in Cameron Indoor. Reggie Johnson in particular was just terrific, finishing with 22 points on 9-10 shooting. He’s starting to look like the third best big man in the ACC behind Williams and Zeller. Assuming Johnson can keep out of foul trouble, the Hurricanes have a very impressive trio in Malcolm Grant (junior), Durand Scott and Johnson (both sophomores). Assuming all three develop, Miami could be a contender next year.

5. Clemson (11-4, 0-1) had the best record for the week (3-0) with dominant wins over Delaware State, Eastern Carolinaand Citadel. While none are elite teams, three wins are three wins (especially this week). Jerai Grant has exploded as of late and is 63.9% from the field.

6. Virginia Tech (9-4, 0-1) took care of South Carolina Upstate before absolutely demolishing Mount Saint Mary’s. The Hokies still have major injury woes, which will only add pressure to Malcolm Delaney. Dorenzo Hudson may be the toughest of them all, as I expected him to be their number two option this season. It’s hard to think of a way the Hokies could live up to their preseason hype between injuries and underperformance, and I still think they’re on the wrong side of the bubble.

7. NC State (9-4) got Tracy Smith back, which is huge. They also blew out Alabama A&M and San Diego, which was expected. With Smith I think the Wolfpack can right the ship and at least finish in the top half of the conference. I’m not sure if they’ll be able to get the ten conference wins I think will be necessary to garner an at-large bid, but I think they’ll make a decent run.

8. Boston College (11-3, 1-0) lost at heartbreaker at Rhode Island and beat South Carolina. I may be punishing Steve Donahue’s squad a little too much (Rhode Island is a pretty good team) because I still think this team has a good shot to make the tournament. Would you believe me if I told you the Eagles have the fourth most efficient offense in the country? That’s got to get you somewhere, even if you do have a very subpar defense. Now they just need to end their two-year losing streak to Harvard this week…

T9. Georgia Tech (7-6) is 7-6? That’s awful. If not for Wake’s infamous season, there would be a lot more negative press surrounding Paul Hewitt‘s squad, but I guess it pays to be not quite the worst. The Yellow Jackets are still shooting horrendously from beyond the arc–although they made over 40% in a crazy double overtime loss to UNC Charlotte. The two big issues with that loss are that Charlotte dismissed their best player earlier this season and the game was in Atlanta.

T9. Florida State (11-4, 1-0) lost to the worst major conference team in the country…see above for more.

T9. Virginia(9-5, 1-0) was blown out by Big 12 (normal) cellar-dweller Iowa State in Charlottesville. Not really a promising outing. Mike Scott is still out with an injury, and it shows: not one Cavalier player scored in double figures. None. KT Harrell (off the bench) led all Virginia scorers with 9.

12. Wake Forest (6-8) got a real boost in the worst major conference team in the country race thanks to wins out of OregonState and Auburn. Now if DePaulcan go on a little run, the Demon Deacons might have it locked up. Seriously. Jeff Bzdelik’s squad lost at Richmondand to Gonzagathis week. Both losses were expected, but they were also both red line upsets (for those fans of mid-majors).

A Look Ahead

If you look closely at the power rankings you’ll notice that the three teams that lost their first game of conference play are in the top half of the conference, while two of the three winning teams inhabit the lower portion of the rankings. This means one of three things: (1) the rankings are totally off base; (2) the games were not good measurements of the teams’ talents; or (3) the conference is bad enough that pretty much every game is a toss-up. I’m hoping the answer is 1 or 2, but I’m worried it’s 3. I think Duke and North Carolina are going to rack up a ton of conference wins. Maryland, Miami, Clemson, NC State, Boston College and a healthy Virginia might too, but I think there are much larger flaws on these teams that will lead to more inconsistency. It’s looking like a lot of low seeds again this year from the Big Dance, buffered by lots of wins over middling and even plain bad conference opponents. The good news is there’s not much place to go but up.

***** – quit your job and divorce your wife if that’s what it takes to watch this game live
**** – best watched live, but if you must, tivo and watch it tonight as soon as you get home
*** – set your tivo but make sure you watch it later
** – set your tivo but we’ll forgive you if it stays in the queue until 2013
* – don’t waste bandwidth (yours or the tivo’s) of any kind on this game

Brian Otskey is an RTC contributor.

Not much action over the Christmas holiday but we do have a few interesting games on tap this weekend. All rankings from RTC and all times eastern.

Baylor’s strong defense was torched by Washington State’s terrific balance to the tune of 57% shooting. When you don’t make shots and don’t defend, you usually don’t win. That was the case as Baylor shot 37% but was remarkably in the game due to a surge fueled by LaceDarius Dunn and their dominance on the boards. The Cougars were up by 20 at one point but Baylor came back and even took the lead before faltering in the end. Meanwhile, Florida State continued its offensive struggles in a loss to Butler. The Seminoles turn it over too much and are highly inefficient when they have the ball. Expect that to continue against a taller and longer Baylor defense. You’d have to think this will be a low scoring game but Baylor does have the potential to break out offensively. Anyone who watched yesterday’s game saw Dunn singlehandedly take over the game and bring the Bears back to give them a shot. Scott Drew’s team cut down on the turnovers but really struggled to find the range against a fundamentally sound Washington State defense. One key area to watch is Chris Singleton’s defense against the Baylor bigs, specifically Quincy Acy. Acy had a double-double against Washington State but really had to work for it. Singleton has the potential to disrupt him, giving FSU a chance. Leonard Hamilton’s best strategy may be to let Dunn get his points and focus on defending the Baylor supporting cast. Dunn and Acy combined for 45 of Baylor’s 71 points against Wazzu so keying in on Acy could be difference for Florida State. The Seminoles are going to have to hold Baylor under 65 points to have a chance as it’s highly unlikely they’ll reach that plateau themselves. Interior defense and turnovers will be the big stories in this game. It’s a very interesting matchup but one where Baylor should have too much offense for Florida State to handle. The Bears have three solid scoring options in Dunn, Acy and Perry Jones, something the Seminoles can’t quite match. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Florida State play well and have a chance to win but Baylor should be able to close the door and grab third place at the Diamond Head Classic.

This is an intriguing matchup between a team that’s really solid on both ends (Washington State) and one that struggles to shoot but can defend well at times and really disrupt a team’s offensive flow (Butler). Washington State is in the top ten in both offensive and defensive effective field goal percentage while Butler is #219 in the same category on the offensive side of the ball. Klay Thompson and Faisal Aden give Washington State two strong threats from deep with Thompson hitting the dagger three to put Baylor away on Thursday. On Saturday they’ll go up against Butler’s top-rated three point defense, allowing just 26% shooting. However, the Bulldogs are vulnerable in the paint and that could the difference in this game. With DeAngelo Casto and Brock Motum inside, Ken Bone has two offensive threats in the paint that Butler cannot match. The Bulldogs have Matt Howard but nobody else has emerged as the second inside threat. On the perimeter, Butler has struggled shooting the trey. They did well against Florida State behind Shelvin Mack but Brad Stevens can’t count on that every night from his team. The rebounding battle is something to watch and should determine who controls the pace of the game. Washington State isn’t a fast-paced team but they run an efficient offense with good screens and cuts. Butler will look to limit second opportunities and slow the game down, falling back into an aggressive man-to-man defense on the perimeter. Stevens may mix in a zone or two to confuse the Cougars but they can’t allow Wazzu to shoot over them and expect to win. Butler fouls a lot but Washington State doesn’t get many points from the line, nor do they shoot it very well. If the Cougars are to win, it’ll be through strong defense leading to scores on the other end. If Wazzu takes good care of the ball, it’s hard to see them losing this game. For the Bulldogs, they absolutely must rebound well in order to have a chance. Butler will scrap and defend hard but they’re a bit too limited offensively to keep up with Washington State’s dynamic scorers, specifically Thompson. He’ll be the difference in this game in what should be a Cougar title in Hawaii.

***** – quit your job and divorce your wife if that’s what it takes to watch this game live
**** – best watched live, but if you must, tivo and watch it tonight as soon as you get home
*** – set your tivo but make sure you watch it later
** – set your tivo but we’ll forgive you if it stays in the queue until 2013
* – don’t waste bandwidth (yours or the tivo’s) of any kind on this game

Brian Otskey is an RTC contributor.

Not a bad set of games tonight but nothing that jumps out at you as a must watch. The best games of the night may very well be in paradise as opposed to Memphis. All rankings from RTC and all times eastern.

The theory that good guard play wins in college basketball will be put to the test in this game from the Diamond Head Classic. Washington State’s guard-heavy lineup goes up against Baylor’s powerful front court, though the Bears have a star guard in LaceDarius Dunn. The Cougars have surprised this year and sit at 9-1 with wins over Gonzaga and Mississippi State in addition to a close home loss against Kansas State. Washington State shares one common opponent with Baylor, that’s Gonzaga. Baylor lost to the Bulldogs this past Saturday in Dallas while Washington State rolled the Zags 81-59 at home ten days earlier. Baylor’s offense has struggled a bit against the two decent teams they’ve played, Gonzaga and Arizona State. Combine that with the fact that Washington State defends the three exceptionally well, the Bears should look to use their strength and athleticism inside and pound the ball into the paint. Rebounding is a concern for the Cougars, especially against a Baylor team that averages 41 RPG. Even if the Bears miss some shots inside, they’re sure to get a bunch of put-back chances against the WSU front line. For Washington State, DeAngelo Casto must have a good night on the glass in order to contain Baylor’s front court, led by Perry Jones and Quincy Acy. The Cougars must look to their back court for scoring and they’ll feel comfortable knowing they have Klay Thompson on their team. Thompson had 28 points against Mississippi State on Wednesday and will be in the running for Pac 10 POY honors. In addition to Thompson, Faisal Aden has enjoyed a terrific season so far. Aden and Thompson form a strong guard duo capable of draining three’s with regularity. Washington State is very good inside the arc as well but Baylor’s interior defense poses the toughest challenge the Cougars have faced so far. They need to be clicking from deep or else it could be a long night. Baylor’s back court isn’t too shabby either with Dunn and A.J. Walton, but each player struggles with turnovers. Washington State enjoys a great turnover margin and that’s how they’re going to get extra possessions against the turnover-prone Bears. With the expected rebounding problem, Washington State has to create turnovers to win this game. Expect Baylor to have an edge at the free throw line as well, enjoying a nice free throw rate on both ends of the floor. The Bears also shoot five percent better from the line than Washington State. The Cougars are a good team but Baylor has something to prove after falling to Gonzaga. We’ll take the Bears behind a big game from Acy inside.

#9 Georgetown @ Memphis – 8 pm on ESPN2 (***)

With the departure of Angel Garcia, the injury to Wesley Witherspoon and their struggles on the court, Memphis is going through some adversity. How Josh Pastner gets his young team to overcome that will determine how far he can take his talented group of players. The Tigers have had three close calls against bad teams and are struggling a bit offensively. Memphis averaged 85 PPG in its first seven games but that number has dropped to 69 PPG over the last three contests. Memphis is not a particularly great shooting team but they get to the charity stripe often and do make up some points there. The pregame story is whether or not Witherspoon will play, as Pastner did not rule him out and said he was day-to-day. If he doesn’t play, the guard-laden Tigers will be severely undersized and thin overall. If he does play, they’ll still be undersized but at least will have a scorer capable of pulling the Georgetown big men away from the basket. For the purposes of this preview, we’ll go on the assumption that he doesn’t play and wouldn’t be near 100% even if he does. Memphis already struggles rebounding the basketball and that’ll be a huge problem against a Hoya team with good rebounding guards and two strong post men. Look for Julian Vaughn and Hollis Thompson to own the paint with Witherspoon out. For Memphis, Will Coleman and Tarik Black have to make their presence known, otherwise Georgetown will focus its defense on the Tiger guards all night. A freshman, Black has had a tough time adjusting to a bigger role on this Memphis team. Tonight is a huge opportunity to assert himself and make himself a strong option for his head coach. The story for Georgetown is obviously their terrific trio of guards. They account for 57% of their points and all are great three point shooters. Point guard Chris Wright is also averaging seven assists per game during his senior season in the nation’s capital. Jason Clark is one of the most underrated players in the game today and has the potential to break out at any time. Austin Freeman is their rock. The preseason Big East POY leads the team in scoring and is a lights out three point shooter. When Freeman is hot, Georgetown is incredibly difficult to beat. The Hoyas are third nationally in offensive efficiency, first in effective field goal percentage and fourth in two point percentage, showing they can get it done both inside and out. It’s no surprise Georgetown hoists a lot of three’s, getting a third of their points from the arc. Memphis has to do a good job defensively on the perimeter otherwise Georgetown will shoot them out of the building. The Tigers also have to worry about turnovers, currently averaging 16 per game with Joe Jackson accounting for almost a quarter of those. Jackson is another freshman who’s incredibly talented but a bit undisciplined at this point in his career. He needs to play well and also get Chris Crawford and Charles Carmouche involved from the arc. With almost all of their players being guards, Memphis is going to have to try to match Georgetown’s outside shooting and get to the foul line. The Tigers will be in this game if they can disrupt the flow and score by getting to the stripe but Georgetown is just too experienced and talented for the young Tigers to overcome. Expect the Hoyas to pick up a nice road win at the FedEx Forum tonight after missing an opportunity at Temple a couple weeks ago.

Matt Patton is the RTC correspondent for the Atlantic Coast Conference.

A Look Back

The biggest news this week (in the country) was Kyrie Irving’s injury. Here’s what we know: it’s a “complicated” ligament injury that will have him out for an undetermined period of time. Initial estimates pointed to him coming back in three to four weeks, but Mike Krzyzewski noted that he could be out all season. I’d be surprised if Irving sat the whole season, but obviously I don’t know exactly what the injury is. What I do know is Duke has one of the best medical staffs in the country. Rather than speculate on the nature or duration of the injury, I’ll try and address the effect of the injury on Duke.

Kyrie Irving was Duke’s best player (so far) this season. If you watched the close games, he totally took over for long stretches. While he struggled a little making decisions in the halfcourt offense, Irving was phenomenal in transition. Without Irving, Nolan Smith will be expected to step into the point guard role (a place he struggled last season). His production will definitely take a hit, and Duke will not be as effective out in transition. Audacity of Hoops had a very interesting statistical view of Irving’s plus-minus (expounded out to forty minutes) on the floor versus on the bench. The sample size is small, but the point is clear: Duke is a very good team even without Irving. Are they number one? Probably not. Only time will tell. Coach K is one of the best “adapters” in the land. For example: in 2001, he navigated Duke around Carlos Boozer’s broken foot, and Boozer came back just in time for the Big Dance (where they then won the national championship). Regardless, Irving’s injury is huge, so I’ll keep you posted on any updates (which should be coming in the next week or two).

Team of the Week: Boston College – With a solid road win over Maryland and topping a streaking Providence, BC takes the honors this week. The Terrapins led late in the game but couldn’t score for the last two and a half minutes. Maryland did not score a single point down the stretch. None. Still, Steve Donahue and his players deserve the credit. They took advantage of Maryland’s lack of a leader when it counted. The Eagles have a solid team that has the talent to finish second in the ACC. Do I think they will? Probably not. But Donahue is a good coach, and the players look like they have bought into his system. The Eagles have won their last five games (losing to Wisconsin on a neutral court), and they have a very winnable nonconference schedule extending into January.

Bizarro Team of the Week – Wake Forest: I’d like to give this to Maryland for coughing up the game to Boston College. Unfortunately, Wake Forest took note of the Maryland effort and outdid them by losing to UNC Wilmington –by 12. Really? UNCW. Ken Pomeroy ranks UNCW as a solid 234th in the nation. Defensively, they’re even worse (304th out of 345 teams). But Wake couldn’t manage to score 70. I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but Wake is terrible. They’ve dug a cellar under the ACC and are camping out. I would not be surprised if they didn’t win one game in conference play (they certainly won’t be favored in any of them). I really hope Jeff Bzdelik gets things turned around soon (I have faith he will once he gets some of his recruits into the system). Wake lost a lot of talent, but they’re still much more talented than UNC Wilmington, Winthrop or Stetson. Those losses are unacceptable.

Player of the Week: Jordan Williams, Maryland – Williams is the obvious choice, but I hate giving this honor to someone who couldn’t get up a bucket in the last two minutes of a close game. But in truth it wasn’t his fault (at least directly). As a big man, he requires someone to get him the ball. Long story short: that didn’t happen. Still, I’d like to see him get a little more aggressive down the stretch. But you can’t argue with his numbers: 23 points and 13 rebounds in 26 minutes against UNC Greensboro and 27 points and 13 rebounds against Boston College.

Power Rankings

Duke (10-0): Duke didn’t have any trouble with Bradley or Saint Louis this week. Andre Dawkins looked especially good, scoring a career high 28 points against Bradley in Irving’s absence. All that talk about the effects of Irving’s injury applies more to Duke’s national hopes than their conference aspirations. Without Irving, Duke is still the class of the ACC. They’ll be much more susceptible to a couple of losses, but they still have a lot of offensive weapons.

Miami (FL) (7-2): Miami took care of Stetson this week. Not a whole lot more to say. But I encourage you to check out Miami’s game against Central Florida, the only unbeaten squad left in the Sunshine State. The game is on Fox Sports at 1:00 PM EST Saturday.

North Carolina (7-3): The Tar Heels beat Evansville decisively but weren’t ever able to put Long Beach State away. The game never felt like Long Beach State was going to win, but Roy Williams probably wanted more separation. However, two major pieces of good news for Tar Heels fans came out of the game: Harrison Barnes had his first double-double (19 points and ten rebounds), and Larry DrewII hit six of seven from the field to finish with 13 points and eight assists. That’s the kind of production most expected Barnes to showcase from the start, and the Heels will be thrilled if he can keep his numbers at those levels. As for Drew, that’s the first competent offensive performance he’s had this season (and more critical fans might suggest in his entire career). Chapel Hill point guards aren’t known for scoring in bunches, a product of Williams’ system, but a starting point guard needs to be able to hit shots. He had some particularly important shots late in the second half when Long Beach State was trying to mount a comeback.

Boston College (8-2, 1-0): See “Team of the Week.”

Florida State (7-2, 1-0): Florida State continued their painful offense, but they did get strong contributions from Deividas Dulkys (17 points), Derwin Kitchen, Bernard James and Okaro White (nine points each). The Seminoles need to find a way to repeat that production night in and night out rather than relying on Chris Singleton for everything. If they can score 75 every time out, they will win the majority of their games.

Virginia (6-3, 1-0): Mike Scott is a player. So far, he’s averaging 16.3 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. He had an off night against Radford, but finished with ten points and 13 boards. He’ll be crucial if Virginia wants to keep from sliding back down into the second half of the ACC (where everyone picked them in the preseason). A lot of credit goes to Tony Bennett for getting this team ready to play and picking up a couple great wins already.

Maryland (7-3, 0-1): This team can’t win close games unless someone steps up. Sean Mosley is having an awful year (his numbers are down significantly from his sophomore season). If I had to guess, I’d say his decreased production comes from more pressure in Greivis Vasquez’s absence. His offensive efficiency rating has dipped from 116.6 last season to an ugly 89.0. I think Terrell Stoglin may need to be the one to step up down the stretch. It’s tough being a freshman leader, but someone has to do it (or at least get Jordan Williams the ball). Otherwise, this team is going to lose a lot of close games.

N.C. State (5-3): Not much to report here apart from a win over South Carolina Upstate. Although the close loss to Syracuse is looking better after the Orange totally dismantled Michigan State this week. Once Tracy Smith is healthy, this team could still make a run for second. Keyword: could. I’m totally disenchanted with Sidney Lowe’s coaching, so I don’t expect it to happen, but they should at least get to the middle of the pack.

Virginia Tech (5-4, 0-1): Life is tough for Virginia Tech basketball fans. They get built up and let down season after season. This week’s win at home against Penn State was nice, but it’s not going to help the at-large resume a lot (Maryland beat the Nittany Lions on the road by a much more convincing margin). The good news for Hokie fans is that Malcolm Delaney didn’t have to beat Penn State solo: three other Hokie players scored in double figures (Jeff Allen had a double-double, while Terrell Bell and Erick Green added some help). Seth Greenberg is going to have to find a way to get that sort of production against better teams too.

Georgia Tech (5-4): Georgia Tech blew a lead to in-state rival Georgia to lose a heartbreaker. The Yellow Jackets bounced back with a win over Savannah State, who is admittedly very bad (1-10 to be exact). This week, Paul Hewitt can add a real resume booster with a win against A-10 contender Richmond.

Clemson (5-4, 0-1): Brad Brownell got off to a quick start, but they’ve dropped their last three games–most recently choking away a lead at Florida State. Demontez Stitt is having knee troubles, but luckily for the Tigers, they have two very winnable games ahead of them in Savannah State and UNC Greensboro which they should be able to handle even if they’re without their leading scorer.

Wake Forest (5-4, 0-1): Ugh. See “Bizarro Team of the Week.”

A Look Ahead

It’s exam time, ladies and gentlemen! That means the good games are few and far between. There are a couple of gems coming up. Saturday is definitely the best day:

Central Florida vs. Miami (1:00 PM, FSN)

Texas @ North Carolina (4:00 PM, CBS)

Georgia Tech vs. Richmond (5:00 PM)

Virginia Tech vs. Mississippi State (8:00 PM)

Wake Forest @ Xavier ** (8:00 PM, CBSCS)

Arizona @ N.C. State (4:30 PM, FSN) on Sunday is also one to keep an eye on because Arizona’s Derrick Williams is a beast in the paint.

**OK, so that probably won’t be a great game unless Wake makes some major adjustments.

***** – quit your job and divorce your wife if that’s what it takes to watch this game live
**** – best watched live, but if you must, tivo and watch it tonight as soon as you get home
*** – set your tivo but make sure you watch it later
** – set your tivo but we’ll forgive you if it stays in the queue until 2013
* – don’t waste bandwidth (yours or the tivo’s) of any kind on this game

Brian Otskey is an RTC contributor.

Friday’s schedule is barren but Saturday has a bunch of terrific matchups. Two ACC conference games highlight a soft Sunday to close out the weekend. All rankings from RTC and all times eastern.

#13 UNLV @ Louisville – 12 pm Saturday on ESPNU (****)

Rick Pitino’s Cardinals are a surprising 7-0 but when you really look at their schedule you realize they haven’t played top teams. Louisville’s best win is over Butler, a team clearly not even near the level it was last year. Including Butler, Louisville’s opponents have an aggregate record of just 25-31. That changes on Saturday when 9-0 UNLV heads to the KFC Yum! Center. The Rebels have already played five games away from home so they’ll be ready for a tough environment. UNLV is a strong team on both sides of the ball but they’ve really piled up the numbers on offense. They’re in the top ten in effective field goal percentage behind Chace Stanback and his 59% shooting. Stanback is a 6’8 wing/forward type player who can cause a lot of problems for the opponent matching up with him. His game extends to the three point arc as well, hitting 41% of his treys this year. It’ll be interesting to see if Pitino puts Rakeem Buckles (10/9) or Terrence Jennings (56% FG) on Stanback. Buckles is the better rebounder so Louisville may not want him drifting away from the basket trying to defend UNLV’s leading scorer. Buckles has made significant strides in his sophomore season, a theme seen throughout Louisville’s starting lineup. Pitino’s top five scorers have increased their scoring by a total of 31 PPG, making up for a lot of what they lost from last year’s team. We recall Pitino saying he’d have a bunch of guys averaging 8-15 PPG and that’s exactly what he has so far. Louisville is a strong defensive club, rated eighth in defensive efficiency. UNLV gets a lot of points from two point range (#5 in two point %) so Louisville will have to live up to their defensive billing in order to win. The Cardinals rank in the top ten in three point defense and effective field goal percentage against so UNLV point guard Oscar Bellfield (53% from three) has to have a good game controlling the ball and getting quality shots for himself and his teammates. Louisville will look to use their pressure defense to push the pace and create turnovers. Pitino said he’s been using a 24-second shot clock in practice so expect Louisville to really get up and down the floor looking for extra possessions. The Cardinals like to shoot a lot of three’s but they aren’t very good at it (32%). Mike Marra should hoist the most, averaging nine three point attempts per game while converting just 30% of the time. With Tre’Von Willis back in the fold, Lon Kruger can go nine-deep if he so chooses. Fresh legs will be needed against Louisville and could play a role late in the second half. UNLV should look to get to the free throw line to stop the flow of the game and take advantage of a Louisville team rated just #252 in opponents’ free throw attempts per field goal attempts. The Cardinals should have an edge on the boards (42 RPG) as UNLV struggles to keep opponents off the offensive glass. This is going to be a really good game, one that may come down to the very end. Louisville will probably be favored to win at home but we wouldn’t be surprised to see the Runnin’ Rebels pick up a key road victory, either.

Wisconsin @ Marquette – 2:30 pm Saturday on ESPN2 (****)

This annual rivalry is one of the most underrated in the country. Wisconsin holds a 63-53 edge but there’s an added twist this season. Marquette freshman Vander Blue originally committed to Wisconsin before signing with Buzz Williams and the Golden Eagles giving Marquette a valuable piece for the future. Each team has a star player going at it in this one, Marquette’s Jimmy Butler and Wisconsin’s Jon Leuer. They’re similar, but Leuer is taller and has a better three point game. The UW big man shoots 48% from deep and is the key man in Bo Ryan’s deliberate offensive system. With Marquette giving up 39% shooting from three on average, expect Leuer and his Badger teammates to have a big game from long range. Wisconsin’s tempo is one of the slowest in the country but they run their offense well and take terrific care of the basketball with Jordan Taylor running the show at the point guard position. Taylor has a stunning 3.92 assist to turnover ratio and teams with Leuer to provide Wisconsin with just under half of their points. Taylor is also a strong defender who will look to disrupt Marquette’s offensive flow. With Dwight Buycks questionable for this game (he did not play Tuesday against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi), Buzz Williams will turn to the inexperienced Junior Cadougan who missed most of last season with a ruptured Achilles tendon. Wisconsin is solid just about everywhere but they’re vulnerable on the three point line. Unfortunately for Marquette, they shoot just 31% as a team from three and that’s where Darius Johnson-Odom comes in. When hot, the dynamic junior can be one of the best shooters you’ll see. He broke out against Milwaukee on November 27 (29 points, 5-7 from three) but struggled in the two games since. For the year DJO is shooting just 29% from three, down almost 20% from last season’s 47% mark. He can get it going at any time though and that’s what makes this game unpredictable. If Johnson-Odom is on, Marquette has an even better chance to pick up a home win over their rival. Tuesday night’s Marquette game saw Vander Blue break out, scoring 21 points on 9-13 shooting. However it also included the loss of Joseph Fulce, an important glue guy for Marquette. The 6’7 Fulce went down with what appeared to be a serious knee injury, the same knee that had been giving him problems before. How Marquette responds to the loss of one of their emotional leaders will be important in this game. Don’t expect Wisconsin to get to the foul line much at all so they’ll have to make up for that disadvantage with strong defense and efficient offensive sets. Marquette is third in the country in keeping opponents off the line while Wisconsin is near the bottom of D1 in getting there. The Badgers are a very good rebounding team and they should hold an edge there against smaller Marquette. Though inexperienced, Cadougan is a talented player who’s capable of replacing Buycks at the point if necessary. Look for Marquette to use Butler and fellow forward Jae Crowder inside the arc, trying to penetrate the stout Wisconsin defense. Rivalry games are usually close and this one figures to be no exception. There are a lot of unknowns on the Marquette side in this game but it would be a very big resume-building win if they can get it in front of the home folks at the Bradley Center.